Retractable awning with improved assembly features

ABSTRACT

A retractable awning is provided with a multiple position pivot support adapted for mounting the awning in different installations. A flange of a mounting bracket fits in one of several slots in the support according to a wall and awning rail structure. A roller is provided with a notch into which is wedged a rope in a hem pocket of the awning. The notch retains the rope and holds the awning taut. Rafter arms a pivotably attached to slides held in slideways on external faces of support arms. A stop and latch mechanism hold the rafter in an extended position so that pivoting of the support arms does not change tension of the awning. An improved roller lock uses a pair of pawls engaging a gear. A spring biases the lock to either of two engaged positions.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 08/408,212, filed Mar. 22,1995, U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,256.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to the field of awnings andspecifically to a vehicle awning with components facilitating improvedassembly and operation.

2. Description of the Related Art

There are a number of known retractable assemblies that support anawning to create a sheltered area. The awning is usually supported in agenerally horizontal position with a slight slope to facilitate runoffof rainwater. Commonly, one edge of the awning is attached to a wall.The opposite edge is attached to a tube, rod, rail or other similarelongated member, which is supported by two support arms. The supportarms rest on the ground or are mounted to a lower part of the wall.Tension rafter arms are disposed between the wall and the tube or railto stretch the awning and hold it in position. In this way, a convenientshelter is formed adjacent the wall to protect people and objectsbeneath the wall from rain and direct sun.

Shifting roll type awnings have a roller tube suspended between thesupport arms. The tube is moved laterally to unroll or roll the awningon the tube. One edge of the awning is rigidly attached to the wall. Itis less common, but still possible, for this type of awning to beenclosed in a case in its retracted position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,877 toQuinn shows an example of such an awning assembly. In both types theroller tube may be spring balanced or spring biased to aid rolling.

Retractable awnings can be divided into two general classes. Box typeawnings have a stationary roller tube mounted to the wall. The awning isrolled around the tube for storage. The box comprises a stationaryenclosure for the awning, a cover of which is opened to permit access tothe awning which is unrolled to an extended position. Alternatively, amovable cover is attached to the free end of the awning to complete theenclosure when the awning is retracted.

A popular application for such awnings is on recreational vehicles. Theawning creates a convenient outdoor shelter next to the vehicle. Simpleand fast assembly and disassembly of the awning are important,especially in vehicle applications. Vehicle awnings also must be ruggedand durable because they are constantly exposed to the elements.

Different hardware and assemblies are used to construct and mount theawning assemblies. The need exists for improvements in the hardware andassemblies to facilitate mounting, assembly, and erection of the awningand to improve the operation of the awning.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides improved features for awning assembliesincluding a roller for an awning having a bead along an edge of theawning. The roller is an elongated member having a longitudinal channeladapted for receiving and retaining the bead therein. A notch isdisposed at an end of the channel, said notch being adapted forreceiving an end of the bead therein in a compressed state, frictionallyretaining the end of the bead, and preventing substantial longitudinalmovement thereof.

An awning assembly according to the invention includes an awning havinga leading edge and a trailing edge, said trailing edge being attachableat a wall. A support arm is adapted for supporting the leading edge ofthe awning and has an upper end spaced from the wall in a retractedposition of the awning. A rafter is disposable between the support armand the wall. A pivot support having an end of the rafter pivotablyattached thereto is mounted at the wall and spacing the rafter from thewall substantially the same distance as support arm is spaced from thewall. A mounting bracket has a flange and is adapted for securing thepivot support to the wall. The pivot support includes a plurality ofslots adapted for receiving the flange of the mounting bracket, each ofsaid slots being adapted for positioning the mounting bracketdifferently depending on a desired mounting configuration. An awningrail is used for attaching the trailing edge of the awning at the wall.The pivot support includes a locating tab adapted for positioning thepivot support relative to the awning rail.

Another construction of the awning assembly includes an awning having aleading edge and a trailing edge, said trailing edge being attachable ata wall. A support arm is adapted for supporting the leading edge at asupport axis of the awning and having a slide channel on an externalface thereof. A rafter is disposable between the support arm and thewall. A slider is pivotably attached to the rafter at a pivot axis andadapted for sliding in the slide channel. A stop is adapted forpositioning the pivot axis collinearly with the support axis in anextended position of the awning.

The invention also comprehends a lock assembly for an awning roller. Aroller adapted for having an awning rolled thereon has an end capmounted on an end of the roller. A rod defines a longitudinal axis ofrotation of the roller. A stop is rigidly mounted to the rod. A lock hasa pawl adapted for engaging the stop so as to prevent relative rotationof the roller and rod in at least one direction spring means is providedfor biasing the lock toward engagement with the stop.

The description of the invention refers to a shifting roll type awingassembly. However, the features and components can be adapted to othertypes of awnings, as well.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle having an awning assemblyaccording to the invention mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is a top view of a mounting bracket according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the mounting bracket of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a pivot support according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the support of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an end of the awning assembly showingthe manner of mounting to the vehicle;

FIG. 7 is an end view of the mounting components of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an end view of the mounting components of FIG. 6 according toanother embodiment;

FIG. 9 is an end view of the mounting components of FIG. 6 according toa third embodiment;

FIG. 10 is an end view of a roller tube having an awning attachedthereto;

FIG. 11 is a partial front view showing an end of the roller tube shownin FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a partial end view of the roller tube shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 shows a section of the roller tube and awning taken from line13--13 of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 shows the view of FIG. 13 with the awning omitted;

FIG. 15 is an end view of the awning assembly in a partially assembled,partially retracted position;

FIG. 16 is a top view of an end of the awning assembly showing theroller tube, a support arm, and a rafter arm according to the inventiontaken from line 16--16 in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a front view of the end of the awning assembly taken fromline 17--17 in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17A is an exploded view of the rafter arm, support arm, and aslider assembly;

FIG. 18 is an end view of the awning assembly in a fully extendedposition;

FIG. 19 is an end view of the awning assembly is a partially retractedposition;

FIG. 20 is a front elevational view of a support arm and a rafter arm ina retracted position;

FIG. 21 is an end view of the support arm and rafter arm in a retractedposition;

FIG. 22 shows an inside face of an end cap of the roller tube and rollerlock components mounted therewith;

FIG. 23 is a front section of the end cap and a torsion rod taken fromline 23--23 of FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 shows the roller lock in a "roll up" position; and

FIG. 25 shows the roller lock in a "roll down" position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, a vehicle 10 has a generally vertical wall 12 withan awning assembly 14 mounted thereon. Generally, the awning assembly 14includes an awning rail 16 mounted on the wall 12 and an awning 18rollable on a roller 20 such as a roller tube. A leading edge of theawning 18 is supported by respective support arms 22. The support armsare preferably secured to ends of the roller 20 and are removablymounted on the wall 12 or rested on a ground surface. Rafter arms 24 aredisposed between leading and trailing edges of the awning 18 to maintainthe awning in tension.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a mounting bracket 30 is preferably made ofcorrosion resistant steel or other durable, rigid material. The bracket30 has a mounting flange 32 and a support flange 34 disposed at oppositeends of a body 36 of the bracket 30. Reinforcing flanges 38 are providedat ends of the body 36. Downwardly projecting dimples 40 are provided onthe body 36. First and second pairs of oval mounting holes 42, 44 arelocated through the bracket 30 at or near the respective flanges 34, 32.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a pivot support 46 is made with aluminum orother durable, rigid material. The pivot support 46 has a body 48 withfirst, second, and third slots 50a, 50b, and 50c located on upper andlower faces thereof. The slots 50 are adapted to receive the supportflange 34 of the mounting bracket 30. A positioning tab 52 projects froma recess 54 on an inboard face of the body 48. A brace arm 56 having afoot 58 extends from below the positioning tab 52. A generallycylindrical pivot slot 60 is located at an outboard end of the pivotsupport 46.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the rafter arm 24 is mounted to the pivotsupport 46 by a pivot pin 62 extending through the pivot slot 60. Theawning rail 16 is mounted to a frame or brace 64 of the vehicle wall 12in a conventional manner. The awning rail 16 defines a C-channel adaptedfor mounting awning components.

Referring to FIG. 7, the positioning tab 52 projects into the C-channelof the awning rail 16. The recess 54 receives the awning rail 16therein. A plastic pad 66 is provided over the foot 58 to preventmarring of the wall 12. The foot 66 preferably rests against the wall12. The support flange 34 of the mounting bracket 30 is located in thefirst slot 50a of the pivot support 46. The pivot support 46 and bracket30 are held in place by a pair of lag screws 68 extending through theholes 42 and the wall 12 into the brace 64.

Referring to FIG. 8, for a different orientation of the awning rail 16,the mounting bracket 30 is located above the pivot support 46 with thesupport flange 34 inserted in the second slot 50b. The screws 68 extendthrough the mounting holes 44 into the brace 64 above the rail 16. Thedimple 40 rests beside the body 48 of the pivot support.

Referring to FIG. 9, for a differently constructed awning rail 16 havingthe C-channel spaced from the wall 12, the support flange 34 is insertedin the third slot 50c. The foot 58 is spaced from the wall or can bebraced against a spacer (not shown).

The pivot support 46 and mounting bracket 30 are adapted for use withdifferent configurations of awning rails 16 and advantageously space thepivot of the rafter arm 24 from the wall, as described below.

Referring to FIG. 10, the roller 20 is a roll-formed, steel tube, asdescribed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,736. An edge of theawning 18 (the leading edge in the example shown) has a pocket 70defined by a hem 72. A flexible, compressible, cylindrical rope 74,preferably made of polypropylene, is located in the pocket 70 andextends slightly beyond both ends of the pocket 70. The rope 74 andpocket 72 define a bead disposed in a slideway 76 of the roller 20. Thediameter of the rope and the dimensions of the slideway are such thatthe rope retains the edge of the awning in the slideway.

Referring to FIGS. 11 through 14, a notch 78 is provided in a side wall80 of the slideway 76. Alternatively, the notch 78 can be provided in abase wall or a corner of the slideway 76, for example. The notch 78 isslightly narrower than the diameter of the rope. The end of the rope 74is compressed and wedged into the notch 78 and retained therein byfriction to prevent longitudinal movement of the rope. Preferably,complementary notches are provided at opposite ends of the roller 20 sothat the edge of the awning can be pulled taut and opposite ends of therope 74 wedged into the respective notches 78 to hold the awning taut inthe slideway 76.

Referring to FIG. 15, each of the support arms 22 includes an upper arm82 and a lower arm 84 slidingly received therein. The arms 82, 84 arefrictionally locked relative to each other by a screw and knob assembly86. Each of the rafter arms 24 includes an inboard arm 88 and anoutboard arm 90 slidingly received therein. The arms 88, 90 arefrictionally locked relative to each other by a screw and knob assembly92. As previously described, the inboard end of the rafter arm 24 ispivotably mounted at the wall 12 on the pivot support 46. The lower endof the support arm 22 has a foot 94 removably and pivotably mountable atthe wall in a foot bracket 96. The outboard arm 90 is slidingly andpivotably mounted to the upper arm 82, as described in more detailbelow. The roller 20 is rotatably mounted near the top of the supportarm 22.

Referring to FIGS. 16 and 17, the roller 20 is rotatably supported on atorsion rod 98, which can be solid or hollow. The torsion rod 98 extendslongitudinally through the center of the roller 20 and through end caps100 disposed at ends of the roller. The torsion rod 98 defines collinearsupport and rotational axes of the roller 20. Ends of the torsion rod 98are supported on the upper arm 82 and secured by a nut and bolt assembly102.

An outside face of each upper arm 82 is provided with a pair of armflanges 104 defining a longitudinal slide channel 106. A slider 108 ispivotably mounted to the outboard arm 90 on a post 110, such as a rivet.The slider 108 is made of a durable, low friction material, such asplastic. The slider has pairs of inner flanges 112 and outer flanges 114cooperating with the arm flanges 104 to retain the slider in the slidechannel 106 and permit longitudinal sliding therein. A support arm cap116 is disposed on the top end of the upper arm 82 to limit upwardtravel of the slider 108. Alternatively, another blocking member, suchas a screw, can be used to limit upward travel of the slider 108. Asshown in FIG. 18, when the slider 108 abuts the cap 116, the post 110defines a pivot axis substantially collinear with the torsion rod 98 andsupport axis of the roller 20.

As shown in FIGS. 17 and 17A, a slider stop 118 is mounted on the post110 between the slider 108 and the upper arm 82. The slider stop 118 hasa detent 120 projecting from an inner face of the stop toward the upperarm 82. An exposed end of the stop 118 defines a lever 122 projectingfrom behind the slider 108 to a manually accessible location. The detent120 is biased toward the upper arm 82 by a compression spring 124, forexample. As shown in FIGS. 17 and 19, a slot 126 adapted to receive thedetent 120 is located near the top of the slide channel 106 of the upperarm 82. The slot 126 is positioned such that the detent 120 is biasedinto the slot and locks the rafter 24 in the position shown in FIG. 18when the slider abuts the support arm cap 116. The rafter 24 isreleasable by actuating the lever 122 to remove the detent 120 from theslot 126.

The rafter arms 24 and support arms 22 are relatively slidable andpivotable between an extended position, shown in FIG. 18, and aretracted position, shown in FIGS. 20 and 21. The rafter and support armassemblies at opposite ends of the roller 20 are mirror images of eachother.

Referring to FIGS. 22 and 23, idler bearings 128 are rotatably mountedon the torsion rod 98 and support the roller 20 for rotation about therod. A coiled torsion spring (not shown) is connected between thetorsion rod and the idler bearing to bias the roller toward a retractedposition with the awning rolled thereon. The end caps 100 close the endsof the roller. One of the end caps 100 is provided with a roller lockassembly 130. As shown and described below, the lock assembly is locatedin the right hand end cap 100, as viewed in FIG. 1. A gear 132 having aplurality of teeth defining stops is mounted on the torsion rod 98. Apin 134 extending through the rod 98 prevents relative rotation of therod and gear 132.

A truss 136 is rotatably mounted on the torsion rod 98 adjacent the gear132. The end cap 100 is fastened to the truss 136 by a pair of screws138 threaded into apertures 140 of the truss 136. A lock 142 having afirst pawl 144 and an opposed second pawl 146 is pivotably mounted onthe truss 136 by a post 148 extending through a passage 150 through thetruss and the end cap 100. The lock 142 is operably by a handle 151disposed on an end of the post 148 outside the end cap 100. Opposedelements of a torsion spring 152 or leaf springs bear against bushings154 mounted on the lock 142. The bushings 154 are symmetrically onopposite sides of the post 148 by a pair of shoulder screws 156. Theelements of the spring 152 bear inwardly against the bushings 154 toresist any tendency of the lock to remain in the neutral position shownin FIG. 22.

Referring to FIG. 24, by operation of the handle 151, the lock ismovable to a "roll up" position wherein the roller and end cap 100 arerotatable clockwise about the torsion rod 98. In this position, thefirst pawl 144 engages a tooth of the gear 132 to preventcounter-clockwise rotation of the roller and end cap about the torsionrod. The opposed elements of the spring 152 bear inwardly against thebushings 154 of the lock 142 to keep the lock in position.

Referring to FIG. 25, by operation of the handle 151, the lock is alsomovable to a "roll down" position wherein the roller and end cap 100 arerotatable counter-clockwise about the torsion rod 98. In this position,the second pawl 146 engages a tooth of the gear 132 to prevent clockwiserotation of the roller and end cap about the torsion rod. The opposedelements of the spring 152 bear inwardly against the bushings 154 of thelock 142 to keep the lock in position.

In operation, the support arms 22 and rafter arms 24 are normally stowedas shown in FIGS. 20 and 21. The arms 22, 24 are spaced from the vehiclewall 12 by the feet 94 and pivot support 46 so that the arms aregenerally parallel. A releasable strap and buckle assembly 158 holds thearms in the parallel, stowed position. To extend the awning, the strapand buckle 158 are released, the rafter knob 92 is loosened, and thelock assembly 130 is moved to the roll down position shown in FIG. 25.As shown in FIG. 19, the roller 20 is pulled away from the vehicle andthe awning unrolls therefrom. Each outboard arm 90 slides out from itsinboard arm 88 to extend the rafters 24. When the awning 18 is fullyextended, the rafter arms 24 are slid to the tops of the support arms 22until the slider stop 118 engages in the slot 126, as shown in FIG. 18.The awning is pulled to a desired tension and the rafter knobs 92 arescrewed in to lock the rafters 24. The supports arms 22 are extended toa desired length and locked with the support arm knobs 86. As shown inFIG. 1, the support arms 22 can remain locked in the foot brackets 96 orthe feet 94 can rest on the ground. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 18, becausethe outboard pivot axis of the rafter 24 and support arm 22 defined bythe post 110 is coaxial with the support axis of the roller 20, pivotingthe support arms 22 between the wall 12 and the ground does notsubstantially change the tension of the awning 18.

To retract the awning, the feet 94 are replaced in the foot brackets 96and the support arms 22 are shortened. The rafter knob 92 is loosenedand the slider stop is released by lifting the lever 122, shown in FIGS.17 and 18. The outboard end of the rafters 24 are slid down to thesupport arm knobs 86. The lock assembly 130 is moved to the roll upposition shown in FIG. 24 by operation of the handle 151. The awning 18is then rolled on the roller 20 as the roller is moved toward thevehicle wall. The arms 22, 24 are returned to the positions shown inFIGS. 21 and 22, the knobs 92 and 86 are tightened, and the strap andbuckle assemblies 158 are used to secure the arms in the parallel,stowed position.

The present disclosure describes several embodiments of the invention,however, the invention is not limited to these embodiments. Othervariations are contemplated to be within the spirit and scope of theinvention and appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An awning assembly comprising:an awning having abead along an edge of the awning; an elongated member having alongitudinal channel adapted for receiving and retaining the beadtherein; a retainer disposed at an end of the channel for retaining theend of the bead and preventing substantial longitudinal movementthereof, wherein the retainer is a notch adapted for receiving an end ofthe bead therein in a compressed state, and frictionally retaining thebead.
 2. An awning assembly according to claim 1, wherein the bead is aflexible, compressible rope.
 3. An awning assembly according to claim 1,wherein the notch is disposed in a wall of the channel.
 4. An awningassembly according to claim 1, further comprising a second notchdisposed at a second end of the channel and adapted for receiving asecond end of the bead.
 5. A roller according to claim 1, wherein thebead is a rope disposed in a hem pocket of the awing.
 6. A rolleraccording to claim 5, wherein the rope is flexible and compressible.